Capitol Hill in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Washington Navy Yard: Maker of Weapons

Tour of Duty

—Barracks Row Heritage Trail —

By Richard E. Miller, August 5, 2008

1. Washington Navy Yard: Maker of Weapons Marker

Inscription.

Washington Navy Yard: Maker of Weapons. Tour of Duty. The white brick wall in front of you marks the original northern boundary of the Navy Yard. The yard grew from its original 12 acres to 128 acres at its peak in 1962. In 2003 it consisted of 73 acres with 55 acres making up the adjacent Southeast Federal Center. . . After the War of 18 12, the Navy Yard's shipbuilding dwindled. The Anacostia River was too shallow and remote from the open sea for building large vessels. By the 1840s, weapons production dominated activities. . . In 1886, the Naval Gun Factory was established. During World War II it was the world's largest, producing everything from precision gunsights to enormous 16-inch battleship guns. By 1962 missiles and aircraft made elsewhere had decreased demand for guns, so the factories closed. The yard became an administrative and supply center, with museums and parks. Operations slowed until 2001, when the Navy adapted dozens of manufacturing spaces for offices and the number of employees doubled. . . The "castle" to your right is the old Navy Yard Car Barn, built in 1891 by the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company for a brief experiment with cable cars. Cars traveled between the Navy Yard and Georgetown, pulled by a moving cable buried in a slot between the rails. Capitol Hill resident J. George Butler wrote of how pranksters would "use a hooked wire to engage the cable, and then swoop down the street on roller skates until some killjoy policeman hove into sight." In 1897 cable cars were discontinued in favor of the new electric streetcars, and the car barn was devoted to their storage and maintenance. . . Reverse: . When celebrated composer John Philip Sousa walked these streets, people called this Capitol Hill neighborhood “Navy Yard.” While the Navy Yard is no longer the area’s major employer, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps still anchor this pleasant residential community and its vibrant commercial center on Eighth Street, SE, now known as Barracks Row. The 16 signs that mark this walking trail describe temporary sojourners as well as families who have lived here for many generations. From Michael Shiner an African American laborer working at the Navy Yard, to John Dahlgren, a weapons pioneer and confidant of President Abraham Lincoln, their experiences have given the community its distinctive character. Follow this trail to the places that tell these stories and much, much more. . . Tour of Duty: Barracks Row Heritage Trail, a booklet of the trail’s highlights, is available at businesses along the way. Visit www.CulturalTourismDC.org to learn about other DC neighborhoods. . . List of contributors and sponsors to the Barracks Row Heritage Trail. . . Caption: Workers put the finishing touches on the exterior – and the interior – of a 13-inch gun at the Naval Gun Factory, around 1910. . Naval Historical Center

The white brick wall in front of you marks the original northern boundary of the Navy Yard. The yard grew from its original 12 acres to 128 acres at its peak in 1962. In 2003 it consisted of 73 acres with 55 acres making up the adjacent Southeast Federal Center.

After the War of 1812, the Navy Yard's shipbuilding dwindled. The Anacostia River was too shallow and remote from the open sea for building large vessels. By the 1840s, weapons production dominated activities.

In 1886, the Naval Gun Factory was established. During World War II it was the world's largest, producing everything from precision gunsights to enormous 16-inch battleship guns. By 1962 missiles and aircraft made elsewhere had decreased demand for guns, so the factories closed. The yard became an administrative and supply center, with museums and parks. Operations slowed until 2001, when the Navy adapted dozens of manufacturing spaces for offices and the number of employees doubled.

The "castle" to your right is the old Navy Yard Car Barn, built in 1891 by the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company for a brief experiment with cable cars. Cars traveled

By J. Makali Bruton, October 29, 2016

2. Washington Navy Yard: Maker of Weapons Marker reverse

between the Navy Yard and Georgetown, pulled by a moving cable buried in a slot between the rails. Capitol Hill resident J. George Butler wrote of how pranksters would "use a hooked wire to engage the cable, and then swoop down the street on roller skates until some killjoy policeman hove into sight." In 1897 cable cars were discontinued in favor of the new electric streetcars, and the car barn was devoted to their storage and maintenance.

Reverse:
When celebrated composer John Philip Sousa walked these streets, people called this Capitol Hill neighborhood “Navy Yard.” While the Navy Yard is no longer the area’s major employer, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps still anchor this pleasant residential community and its vibrant commercial center on Eighth Street, SE, now known as Barracks Row. The 16 signs that mark this walking trail describe temporary sojourners as well as families who have lived here for many generations. From Michael Shiner an African American laborer working at the Navy Yard, to John Dahlgren, a weapons pioneer and confidant of President Abraham Lincoln, their experiences have given the community its distinctive character. Follow

By Richard E. Miller, August 5, 2008

3. The Latrobe Gate, ceremonial entrance to the Washington Navy Yard

across M Street from the marker which is visible in lower right of photo.

this trail to the places that tell these stories and much, much more.

Tour of Duty: Barracks Row Heritage Trail, a booklet of the trail’s highlights, is available at businesses along the way. Visit www.CulturalTourismDC.org to learn about other DC neighborhoods.

List of contributors and sponsors to the Barracks Row Heritage Trail.

Caption: Workers put the finishing touches on the exterior – and the interior – of a 13-inch gun at the Naval Gun Factory, around 1910.Naval Historical Center

Erected by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 10 of 16.)

Location. 38° 52.604′ N, 76° 59.705′ W. Marker is in Capitol Hill, District of Columbia, in Washington. Marker is on 8th Street, SE 0 miles north of M Street, SE, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Washington Navy Yard DC 20374, United States of America.

More about this marker. [Illustration captions:]"Awful explosion of the Peacemaker" by N. Currier illustrates the 1844 accident that led to the creation of the Navy Yard's weapons testing facilities. A gun exploded during a VIP demonstration test, killing President John Tyler's Secretaries of State and Navy and nearly killing the President himself.

The Navy Museum which opened in 1963 is housed in Building 76, the former 600-foot-long Breech Mechanism shop of the Old Navy Gun Factory. The north end of the building was erected in the late nineteenth century and the southern portion was added in 1899. A 400-foot addition on the northern end, used for fitting liners and reinforcing hoops to gun barrels, was removed in the 1970s. The Museum contains exhibits which commemorate the Navy's wartime heroes and battles and peacetime contributions in the fields of science, diplomacy, and humanitarian service.

"father of American naval ordnance, "created a modern-style research and development program in the 1850s and invented the distinctive "soda-water bottle" shaped cannon in time for the Civil War. President Lincoln often visited his good friend Dahlgren here.

An electric streetcar, adapted from an earlier experimental cable car, awaits passengers on M Street in front of the Navy Yard Car Barn around 1902. In later years this building was known as the Blue Castle.

Over more than two centuries, the Navy Yard has expanded along the Anacostia riverfront, erasing the original shoreline as landfill was added. Employment peaked in 1944 at 26,000.

In 1943 the National Youth Administration sent Juanita Gray to work on a metal lathe at the Navy Yard for $45 per week.

Not all the Navy Yard Gun Factory products were large. This 20-pounder (4-inch bore) light rifled cannon, on display at the nearby Naval Museum, was produced at the Navy Yard in 1865. Intended for use on launches or light field carriages, this piece was one of a family of "boat howitzers" produced before, during, and after the Civil War at the Yard.

By J. Makali Bruton, October 29, 2016

9. Washington Navy Yard: Maker of Weapons Marker

Another view of the nearby Latrobe Gate to the Washington Navy Yard.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 2, 2016. This page originally submitted on August 29, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 3,998 times since then and 53 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on August 29, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 2. submitted on December 2, 2016, by J. Makali Bruton of Querétaro, Mexico. 3, 4. submitted on August 29, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 5. submitted on September 2, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 6, 7, 8. submitted on August 29, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 9. submitted on December 2, 2016, by J. Makali Bruton of Querétaro, Mexico. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.

We are suspending Amazon.com advertising until they remove an ad for a certain book from circulation. A word in the book’s title has given rise to number of complaints. The word is inappropriate in school classroom settings.